Email preparing for May 10, 2020
Thanks be to God that we don’t have to fake “fine.” Life in Christ includes suffering and pain of all kinds and also includes resources to get through it.
Category: Psalms Group
These materials were shared with the Psalms Group, a fellowship group with a special interest in learning about, reading and praying the Psalms daily.
Email preview for Psalms Group on May 31, 2020
Dear Psalms friends,
Tomorrow we will be concluding the strange and memorable Eastertide of 2020 with the joyful celebration of Pentecost Sunday, the official birthday of the church. Appropriately, our Psalms group will focus on “Joy,” chapter 6 of David Taylor’s Open and Unafraid.
We will explore Psalm 66 to help us enter into the joy of rescue and deliverance,
the joy of troubles and transformation,
and the joy of thanking God and telling others about who he is to us and what he does for us.
Prepared for Sunday, July 26, 2020
Dear Psalms friends,
Our focus tomorrow is LIFE, the life God creates and is renewing and redeeming.
Psalms Group, Sunday August 2, 2020, 9 AM
We will focus on the theme of “Nations” tomorrow, presented in chapter 13 of Fr. David Taylor’s Open and Unafraid. He starts off by describing his own experience and understanding of “Who is my neighbor?” What experiences have shaped your understanding of that question? How has your reading and praying of the psalms impacted your understanding of who your neighbor is?
Psalms Group, Sunday August 9, 2020, 9 AM
Dear Psalm friends,
We will be focusing on chapter 14, “Creation,” in Open and Unafraid tomorrow at 9 am. We will use Psalm 95:1-7 as our invitatory psalm (invitation to worship) and also read Psalm 8. Both of these psalms are Hebrew hymns of praise, declaring praise for God’s infinite creative power and unique attention to humans made in his own image. Your lesson sheet is attached and will guide us in taking a deeper look at our Creator and his creation, especially ourselves and other humans.
Dear Psalms friends,
Tomorrow we will be discussing the conclusion of Open and Unafraid (pp. 185-191). Also be sure to read Bono’s Afterward and peruse the “Recommended Resources.”
Our psalms for the day will be Psalms 111-112, tomorrow’s lectionary psalms for Morning Prayer. This pair of carefully crafted alphabetic acrostic psalms were written to complement one another, and they share a common Old Testament wisdom theme. Psalm 111 is a hymn of praise celebrating YHWH’s actions, character, and torah. Psalm 112 is a wisdom psalm that demonstrates how YHWH transforms the life of one “who fears the LORD” to reflect His own character and work. Don’t miss the reality of this “blessed” person experiencing “darkness,” receiving “bad news,” and dealing with enemies.
Check back later today for a tomorrow’s lesson.
Enjoy today’s feast day celebrating Jesus’ first disciple, Mary. We pray with Mary, “Let it be to me according to your will.” She exemplifies Psalm 112.
Grace and peace in Christ,
Toni
Dear Psalms friends,
So…here we are together, back again in Book V of the Psalter with the Egyptian Hallel (Psalms 113-118), the Torah “love letter” of Psalm 119, and the Psalms of Ascent (Psalms 120-134). If you have not yet ordered Tim and Kathy Keller’s The Songs of JESUS, it’s time! Doug and I will be here one more Sunday after tomorrow, before heading to retreat in Colorado 9/5-9/13. Our group will not meet on 9/6 and 9/13. We’ll start meeting again on 9/20.
Psalm 136 and The Songs of Jesus, pp. 344-346
Dear Psalms friends,
This Sunday’s focus psalm is Psalm 136, the last of the Psalter’s storytelling/narrative psalms. The faithful people in Israel kept retelling the unfolding drama of YHWH’s dealings with Israel. Here’s a helpful outline for reading these storytelling psalms:
Dear Psalms Friends,
I’m looking forward to being with each of you this Sunday morning at 9 am. Our lectionary psalms this week have taken us out of Book 1 and into Book 2, Psalms 36-55. Tim and Kathy Keller explore these psalms on pp. 70-118 in The Songs of Jesus. Please be ready to share about specific reflections or prayers from the Kellers’ book that are currently impacting you.
Dear Psalms friends,
Our focus psalm this Sunday, September 27, will be Psalm 57, an individual Davidic lament in a troubled time Let’s be asking ourselves, “How much weight, how much importance, does God actually have in my life, especially when I feel the earth shaking under my feet and my pulse quickening?”